Born into a family of hockey players on Canada’s Prince Edward Island, Kristen Cameron grew up playing the sport. She was a star hockey player at Bowdoin College in Maine, then in 2010 took a job as assistant hockey coach in a Division 1 program at Mercyhurst College in Erie, PA. But in September of that year her life changed instantly when she became the victim of a drunk driver in a hit and run accident, leaving her with a spinal cord injury and paralysis from the chest down.

It had started out as a great day. Kristen had moved into a new apartment, conveniently located by the ice rink. After unpacking and running errands, she decided to take a bike ride on the local riding trails. It was then that she was struck by a drunk driver who fled the scene, leaving her on the side of the road with a fractured spine. Witnesses say she flew nearly 50 feet into the air, and the driver stopped to check for damages to his car before driving off.

Most of her hospital stay was a blur, but one memory sticks out for Cameron. “Someone came in and poked my leg and asked me if I could feel it, and I said, ‘No,’” Cameron said. “My sister immediately got up and left the room because she was upset. That’s one of the things I remember the most. Her being so upset, me feeling bad that she was upset. I don’t know, I guess I never really believed it.”

Cameron also remembers her family and friends talking about the man, 49-year-old Allen Peters, whose bad choice altered the course of her life so drastically. “I remember talking to my dad when I was still in Erie in intensive care and hearing everyone talk about wanting [Peters] to get sentenced,” she said. “But in the back of my mind, I thought, ‘He probably needs more help than I do. He needs more help than anyone.’”

Peters was arraigned and pleaded guilty in the spring of 2011. He was sentenced to three years in prison. Unfortunately, Peters had no insurance on the vehicle he was driving, so Cameron’s family has had to bear the responsibility of her treatment and therapy.

While Peters is in jail, Cameron is trying to figure out how to live inside her “new body.” She is paralyzed from the chest down, and does not have use of her fingers, but that doesn’t stop her from being workout crazy, just like she was prior to the accident. Cameron can be found most days in the gym of the assisted living facility where she resides, working out her shoulders, deltoids, and biceps.

Through her recovery, she has kept a positive attitude and never given up, although she admits there have been some lows. This year she attended the 2011 Women’s Frozen Four at Mercyhurst. From a private viewing room above the ice, the reality sunk in. “I was supposed to be there that year…. Everything set in; I saw what I was missing out on,” says Cameron.

But she’s not giving up, not by a long shot. Cameron is eying a new wheelchair that will enable her to stand up, which just may get her back into the game as a coach. She’s also considering a wheelchair bike, which will allow her to continue her triathlon training.

“Just being able to get my body into as good of a place as it can be, that keeps me going,” Cameron said. “But a big thing is that, through all of this stuff … hearing how many people at home are thinking about me and have given money to my family. There are so many people that I don’t even know that help out. Those people, from what I’m told, all think that I inspire them and to me, if I inspire them, that’s what motivates me to keep working.”

Sources:
espn.go.com/espnw/journeys-victories/7680610/former-all-american-hockey-player-kristen-cameron-picks-self-paralyzing-accident
cbc.ca/sports/hockey/opinion/2012/02/kristen-cameron-fighting-back.html

Image sources:
espn.go.com
cbc.ca
sports.nationalpost.com
newenglandpondhockey.com

It may just be the most adorable video you see all day, but there also is solid science behind the baby-sized wheelchairs that are being used in research at the University of Delaware. The special needs children using them are getting a chance to explore their surroundings that they would have otherwise missed.

Babies’ brains and behavior are built upon exploration and discovery of the world around them. Most babies do this by crawling and then walking, but infants born with disorders such as Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, or autism often miss the chance to explore due to their physical limitations. The research is being led by James C. Galloway, associate professor of physical therapy, and Sunil Agrawal, professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Delaware. Together, they have developed tiny robots that are controlled with joysticks, allowing infants the ability to maneuver and explore the world around them.

“If these infants were adults, therapists would have options of assistive technology such as power wheelchairs,” stated Galloway. “Currently, children with significant mobility impairments are not offered powered mobility until they are 5-6 years of age, or older. This delay in mobility is particularly disturbing when you consider the rapid brain development during infancy. Their actions, feelings and thinking all shape their own brain’s development. Babies literally build their own brains through their exploration and learning in the complex world.”

The biggest barrier to this type of technology is caregivers’ concerns for safety. When asked about safety concerns, especially considering babies as young as seven months were found to be able to operate the joystick mechanism.

“This is, of course, understandable, and is the same fear that every parent with a newly walking infant faces,” Galloway stated. “It is the solution to the safety problem that is the real barrier. The current clinical practice is to avoid power mobility until the child can follow adult commands. Your parents didn’t wait until you followed their every command before they let you walk–they held your hand, they required you to stay near them and alerted you to obstacles in your way. This is the way infants learn real world navigation, and it is exactly these safety features that are being built into our mobile robot.”

“Our first prototype, affectionately called UD1, was designed with smart technology that addresses each of these safety issues so that infants have the opportunity to be a part of the real world environment,” Agrawal said.

The wheelchair has safety sensors positioned all around the ring, which determine if the space the infant is moving into is obstacle free. If it is not, it will determine if the infant can bump into the obstacle or if it should take control and drive around the obstacle itself. The next prototype will build on current technology and allow an adult to have an over-ride control of the device.

“In this way, we can bind technology and human need together to remove barriers for movement in the environment,” Agrawal said.

“When I saw his little robots, it was easy to envision a baby driving one,” he said. “We knew from our previous work that newly reaching infants could use a joystick to control a distant toy. This and other research strongly suggests that very young infants can be trained in real world navigation. It was a special feeling to see a potential solution to a really serious health-care gap for young kids. There was and still is a special tingle when we think of the not so distant future.”

To see more information about other infant wheelchair research, see our blog: Wii Wheelchair Gives Mobility to Disabled Infants

Source: boingboing.net/2012/04/27/babys-first-biotech-robotic.html

Image sources:
newswise.com
usatoday.com

There are a number of different factors known to cause cerebral palsy. These include genetic mutations, infection, fetal stroke, and complications during delivery. A new study has identified a way of curing cerebral palsy caused by maternal inflammation and infection, by delivering a medication directly to the brain.

Researchers at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Perinatology Research Branch of the National Institutes of Health used rabbits to test a new treatment using N-acetyl-L-cysteine or NAC, an anti-inflammatory sometimes used for people who overdose on acetaminophen. Rabbits were chosen for testing because, as in humans, part of their brains develop after birth.

Pregnant rabbits were exposed to bacteria that caused cerebral palsy in their offspring. A low dosage of NAC was delivered directly to the brains of day-old rabbits via a nanodelivery method, which uses small molecules, known as dendrimers. This method allowed the NAC to cross the blood-brain barrier and attack the swelling of the brain. According to Sujatha Kannan, the lead author of the study, newborn rabbits treated with NAC using nanodelivery showed “dramatic improvement in motor function” within five days of their birth. Next, they hope to study if the improvements last into adulthood.

Cerebral palsy affects about 750,000 children and adults within the United States alone. Nearly 3.3 out of every 1,000 births in the United States results in the condition. It will likely be many years before it is determined that this treatment would be safe for use in human newborns, but the research shows that early intervention can have a positive effect on brain damage.

“The importance of this work is that it indicates that there is a window in time, immediately after birth, when neuroinflammation can be identified and when treatment with a nanodevice can reverse the features of cerebral palsy,” said the study’s co-author Roberto Romero, an obstetrician at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

“One of the challenges, however, is that cerebral palsy is typically not diagnosed until age 2. By the time we make the diagnosis there is very little we can do,” said Romero, describing cerebral palsy as “a lifelong condition with no cure.”

Whether the treatment could be effective for older children or adults will still have to be considered. But experts feel that the study offers hope that nanomedicine may be the future of treatment for a variety of other brain injuries, including stroke, multiple sclerosis, meningitis, and encephalitis.

For more information about this research along with a video, please visit Detroit Medical Center’s Cerebral Palsy research page at www.dmc.org/cp

Source:
disabilityscoop.com/2012/04/19/in-breakthrough-cp-treatable/15421/
dmc.org/cp

Image sources:
telegraph.co.uk
en.wikipedia.org

Johnny Depp is well known for his preference of being left alone in public, but a recent lawsuit aimed at the actor accuses his security team of taking things too far. The plaintiff in the case is a University of California-Irvine medical professor who walks with a cane for assistance due to her disabilities from spondyloarthritis (vertebral inflammation) and fibromyalgia (widespread pain and joint stiffness).

According to court documents, the plaintiff was attending a recent Iggy and the Stooges concert at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. When she tried to return to her seat in the VIP section, she was blocked by Depp’s security detail.

According to the plaintiff, the guards insisted she use another entrance to the VIP area only accessible by stairs. She claims that when she explained this was impossible due to her disability and that her cane was left at her seat, the guards initially yielded. She alleges that at this point Mr. Depp personally got involved and began “supplying direct supervision and management of his security guards and directing their current and future actions.”

The plaintiff claims that the security guards then grabbed her and took away her cell phone, then handcuffed her and dragged her through the theater, causing injury to her body and pulling down her pants. She claims that the security guards roughed her up so badly that she suffered from possible broken bones, a dislocated elbow, bleeding, and swelling.

The lawsuit is seeking a $25,000 civil penalty against Mr. Depp and the Hollywood Palladium. Other charges in the lawsuit include negligence, premises liability, assault, false imprisonment, and discriminatory practices.

Sources:
tmz.com/2012/04/16/johnny-depp-sued-over-alleged-concert-beatdown-y
hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/johnny-depp-hollywood-palladium-lawsuit-312603our-thugs-ripped-my-pants-off/
vancouversun.com/entertainment/Johnny+Depp+target+lawsuit+after+disabled+woman+bottom+exposed+public/6473744/story.html

Video source:
inquisitr.com

Image sources:
dailymail.co.uk
fanpop.com

Over 30,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with Huntington’s disease, which is characterized by uncontrollable muscle spasms. This debilitating congenital neurological disorder has no treatment, and over time takes away muscle coordination and cognitive abilities of the patient. However, new stem cell research using stem cells may give hope to those with the disease.

The cause of Huntington’s disease can be found in GABA neuron cells, which produce a chemical neurotransmitter responsible for the communication network in the brain that coordinates movement. In Huntington’s patients, the GABA neuron cells degrade, causing a disruption in key neural circuitry, and resulting in the loss of motor function.

Neuroscientist Su-Chun Zhang, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison specializes in making various types of brain cells from human embryonic cells. A recent research study co-authored by Zhang used large amounts of GABA neurons made from human embryonic stem cells. The research goal was to see if these cells could integrate into the brain of a mouse with Huntington’s-like symptoms.

The success of the trial went much further than this, and to the surprise of Zhang and his colleagues, the cells not only integrated, but projected to the proper target and reestablished the broken communication network. The result was restoration of the motor function in the mouse.

“This circuitry is essential for motor coordination, and it is what is broken in Huntington patients. The GABA neurons exert their influence at a distance through this circuit. Their cell targets are far away,” explained Zhang. “Many in the field feel that successful cell transplants would be impossible because it would require rebuilding the circuitry. But what we’ve shown is that the GABA neurons can remake the circuitry and produce the right neurotransmitter.”

Neuroscientists typically considered the adult brain to be very stable, but this research shows that the adult brain may be more malleable than originally thought. For patients with Huntington’s, which has no effective treatment, this is exciting news. However, Zhang stresses that the research, while promising, will take quite some time to test and perfect in humans.

Source:
news.wisc.edu/20451

Image sources:
scitechdaily.com
inhabitat.com
criticalmass.uk.com

In the two years since the debut of the iPad, schools have found how beneficial the new technology can be to children with special needs and students with learning disabilities. A student with autism can let his teacher know that he is hungry and what he would like for lunch. Touch screen apps can help kids with fine motor difficulties, while eBooks let students read at their individual reading levels without worry of ridicule from classmates. Many schools across the country are purchasing iPads for their students with special needs and learning disabilities, and are finding that students are more motivated and more self-confident using this technology, despite their educational challenges.

If you are a parent who is considering an iPad for your child, you may find yourself overwhelmed at the costs involved. Besides the initial cost of the iPad itself, there are hundreds of apps designed with children with special needs, and few of them are inexpensive. With careful research, trial periods on some apps, and a little financial creativity, you can make the investment a worthwhile decision.

The case you choose for your child’s iPad is just as important as the apps you purchase. Consider investing in a military grade case, as these typically allow the iPad to be dropped, rolled over, and tossed without damage to the unit.

Non-traditional Funding for an iPad

Insurance companies will not typically cover the cost of an iPad, but there are some non-profit organizations that offer assistance:

The Conover Company is devoted to making apps for individuals with disabilities or special needs. They offer a grant program, the Conover Mobile Technology Grant, to help children and adults live more independent lives through the use of their apps.

Danny’s Wish is conducting a fundraiser, iPads for Autism, where they plan to supply approximately 100 iPads to children in need. Anyone is welcome to apply, and they will choose based on those most in need.

iHelp for Special Needs is dedicated to raising funds to provide iPads and apps to children that are in need. You can help raise funds by shopping at your favorite sites through their links, making a donation or visiting sponsors. An application for iPads and apps is available on the site.

Chipin.com and GiveForward.com are sites that allow you to set an online fundraising campaign. Friends, family, and the site’s visitors can donate funds to help you purchase an iPad.

Source:
washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/advice/ipads-especially-helpful-for-special-needs-students/2012/04/17/gIQAQn1iQT_story.html

Image sources:
9to5ipad.com
keystonebehavioral.com
inov8-ed.com

A request for help from the mother of a girl with cerebral palsy has led to a group effort by students in an area of Alabama recently devastated by storms. A few months ago Joann Wells stopped by the Tuscaloosa Center for Technology to see if they could build her daughter a desk that would be comfortable for her to use while doing homework.

Construction and graphic design students got the opportunity to put their skills to good use, designing and building the special desk for 13-year-old Yasmine Williams. In doing so, they have learned how to help rebuild Tuscaloosa, which was damaged by tornadoes last year.

The project took the work of six construction classes and three months to complete, but the desk is a work of art. As Yasmine walked up the front stairs of the Tuscaloosa Center for Technology, she was greeted by the applause of the 95 students who were a part of the project. Her new desk is not only functional, but pretty, with hot pink padding to support her chest and arms, and her name and decorations hand painted on it.

Whitney Lloyd was the artist who did the painting. The 17-year old high school junior asked Yasmine, “Do you like it?” anxiously. Yasmine nodded yes, and gave Lloyd a hug, which spoke volumes.

“I thought it was a super project because it’s for someone in real life and not just something I’m making for a portfolio,” said Lloyd.

Andy Bernard, who teaches construction at the college, was happy the students had the opportunity to work with a real world project. “Everything we do here is real world,” he said. “It’s not arts and crafts. I want students to be able to tell employers what they’ve built. This is a project they can take with them.”

Bernard added, “This is the first thing we’ve built that we donated and have been able to be a blessing to the town with. We want these kind of projects. If the boys’ basketball team at Southview Middle School needs cubby holes for their locker room, we want to build that. Our students need the real-world experience.

“God wiped out thousands of buildings in this town and our kids are the age group who will be building much of it back. We want the experience so we can make sure they build this (city) back correctly.”

Source:
tuscaloosanews.com/article/20120410/NEWS/120409759

Image sources:
tuscaloosanews.com
articles.nydailynews.com
myfoxal.com

Children and adolescents with scoliosis are traditionally treated with the surgical insertion of a growing rod. Every six months, the children must undergo another surgery to lengthen the rod as they grow. A new study using a magnetic rod that eliminates the need for repeated surgeries is being tested, and the initial small study looks promising.

In addition to the pain and emotional toll that the repeated surgeries cause for young patients and their families, the surgeries are costly and require missed time from school and work. In an effort to limit the number of surgeries required to correct the abnormal curving of the spine found in scoliosis patients, researchers led by Kenneth Cheung and Dr. Dino Samartzis at the University of Hong Kong have developed a growing rod that is magnetically controlled. This type of rod allows its length to be adjusted without surgery.

The initial study included only two patients; however, the results were very promising. According to the published report in The Lancet “The preliminary results from the first two patients to undergo the treatment for a minimum of 24 months suggest that this noninvasive outpatient procedure is effective and safe.”

“Whether [the new technology] leads to significantly better outcomes than traditional growing rods is not yet known, but early results are positive and the avoidance of open distractions is a great improvement,” they said.

This technology is not available in the United States at this time, but experts are very optimistic about the new device. According to Dr. John Smith of the University of Utah School of Medicine and Dr. Robert Campbell Jr. of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, “If this technology was available in the U.S., we believe that it would be rapidly used to avoid repetitive surgeries and improve quality of life for children with spinal deformity.” They also, “Strongly encourage Cheung and colleagues to continue to report their results — both positive outcomes and adverse events. We are hopeful that further development of the technology will make this treatment increasingly available to children worldwide.”

To learn more about this new magnetic treatment and the possibilities of it coming to the U.S., you can contact Emerge Technologies through their website at www.ellipse-tech.com or see more about the treatment via the video below:

Source:
health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/04/19/scoliosis-treatment-might-reduce-need-for-surgeries
ellipse-tech.com

Image sources:
theverge.com
nortonhealthcare.com

The sad reality is that because of size limitations, many people with life-threatening illness or injury are unable to gain acceptance into clinical trials that could save their lives. Often, these patients must wait months or years for clinical trials to be completed and the lengthy process of drug development to run its course. However, sometimes patients choose to take matters into their own hands–most recently a group of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

ALS is a neurodegenerative disease that affects the nerve cells of the brain and spinal cord. The progressive degeneration of these motor neurons eventually leads to death. A compound called dexpramipexole, which may slow degeneration, is currently being tested in clinical trials by Biogen Idec.

ALS Worldwide is a non-profit established by Stephen and Barbara Byer, the parents of Ben Beyer, who died of ALS in 2008. Stephen had been following the progress of dexpramipexole for years and in 2010 learned that Biogen Idec was preparing to launch a late-stage trial of the compound in pill form with hopes for FDA approval.

Stephen contacted the company with the hopes that they would work with ALS Worldwide to establish a compassionate-use trial, which is sometimes permitted after a clinical trial has reached its limit. In compassionate-use trials, a small group of patients may be able to have access to the drug under the care of a doctor and the FDA.

Biogen refused the request, with spokesman Jim Baker stating, “We don’t feel we have enough information on safety and efficacy of the drug to provide it to patients outside a clinical-trial setting.”

Stephen Byer decided it was time to get creative. Dr. James Bennett, the neurologist who discovered the compound, had already received FDA approval to treat a small group with the liquid form of the compound. Through Bennett, ALS Worldwide was able to purchase the compound in powder form, which was then compounded into a liquid formula that is being researched under a compassionate-use study.

“We manage this trial in a scrupulous manner and take every precaution,” stated Byers. The goal of the study isn’t FDA approval, rather, “It is to provide dexpramipexole in liquid solution to as many patients as we can as long as they are ineligible for the [Biogen] clinical trial. It is a way of expanding access to the drug.”

While Biogen is not affiliated with this study, they will likely be watching the results closely, as an adverse reaction or death in the ALS Worldwide trial would be reported to the FDA, and ultimately could negatively affect Biogen’s own trial.

Source:
blogs.wsj.com/health/2012/04/16/a-different-route-to-finding-a-treatment-for-lou-gehrigs-disease/
alsworldwide.org/dexpramapexole.html

Image sources:
alsworldwide.org
news.vcu.edu

In a recent study funded by the National Institutes of Health, researchers were able to restore complex hand movements in monkeys that suffered from paralysis. The research utilized a neuroprosthesis, an artificial connection between the brain and the muscles required for movement of the hand and fingers.

The research was funded by the National Institute of Health, and led by Lee E. Miller, PhD. Lee is the professor of physiology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, located in Chicago. The researchers combined two pieces of technology for the groundbreaking study. The first piece of technology was a multi-electrode array which is implanted directly into the brain. This piece acts as a brain-computer interface (BCI) and allows researchers the ability to detect the activity of 100 different brain cells. The second piece of technology used is a functional electrical simulation (FES) device that sends a current of electricity directly to the affected muscles, which in turn makes these muscles contract.

Before conducting the research, the researchers monitored the brain and muscle activity of two healthy adult monkeys. They used the data collected while the monkeys performed complex muscle activities that involved reaching out, grasping a ball, and then releasing it. This allowed the researchers to learn the patterns of muscle activity and the brain activity causing the movement.

The monkeys were given an anesthetic nerve block to restrict nerve activity below the elbow, which mimics paralysis of the hand. Using the neuroprosthesis, the researchers were able to bypass the spinal cord, and the monkeys regained movement in the paralyzed hand. Grip strength tests showed that the monkeys had indeed returned to normal function and use of the muscles blocked by the anesthetic.

“With these neural engineering methods, we can take some of the important basic physiology that we know about the brain, and use it to connect the brain directly to muscles,” Dr. Miller said. “This connection from brain to muscles might someday be used to help patients paralyzed due to spinal cord injury perform activities of daily living and achieve greater independence.”

The next step of the research will be to test the system in primates that have had long-term paralysis. For now, Dr. Miller cautions that while the current study is a useful model of paralysis, it does not replicate the chronic changes that occur with long-term paralysis.

Sources:
sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120418135047.htm
ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/grasp_after_paralysis.htm
northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2012/04/miller-paralyzed-technology.html

Image sources:
extremetech.com
theverge.com